Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists
National industry · NAICS 621340
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Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists is a U.S. industry in the NAICS classification. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates about 476,590 workers across 147 detailed occupations in it. A typical worker earns around $70,810 a year (Singulariki estimate, see below).
This industry comprises establishments of independent health practitioners primarily engaged in one of the following: (1) providing physical therapy services to patients who have impairments, functional limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical functions and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes, or who require prevention, wellness or fitness services; (2) planning and administering educational, recreational, and social activities designed to help patients or individuals with disabilities regain physical or mental functioning or adapt to their disabilities; and (3) diagnosing and treating speech, language, or hearing problems. These practitioners operate private or group practices in their own offices (e.g., centers, clinics) or in the facilities of others, such as hospitals or HMO medical centers. Illustrative Examples: Audiologists' offices Recreational (e.g., art, dance, music) therapists' offices Industrial therapists' offices Speech pathologists' offices Occupational therapists' offices Physical therapists' offices Cross-References.
Employment is national May 2024 OEWS. "Typical pay" is Singulariki's own figure — the employment-weighted average of each occupation's national median wage — a rough center of the industry, not an official BLS number.
How exposed this industry is to AI
Weighting every occupation in this industry by its employment and its unified AI-exposure index (the OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" human-rated task overlap folded with the Felten/Raj/Seamans AIOE index), this industry sits in the Moderate band — 49th percentile across all industries.
Exposure measures how much of the work overlaps with what today's AI can do, not a prediction of automation; high-exposure industries are where AI is most likely to reshape tasks. Employment-weighted across 122 occupations that carry an exposure score. Compare every industry on the AI exposure hub.
How AI is actually used in this industry
Among measured Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations mapped to O*NET task statements (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these patterns are most associated with the occupations in this industry, weighted by its employment mix. They are shares of observed AI conversations — not of worker time, revenue, or what could be automated — and reflect one AI assistant's consumer sample, not all AI.
| Signal coverage | 73.0% of employment · 89/133 occupations have AEI task data |
| Augmentation vs. automation | 45.2% working with AI · 33.5% handed to AI |
| Most common pattern | Directive · AI does it; you give the instruction |
| Typical AI autonomy | 3.7 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently |
Tasks driving the signal
The task families that account for the most AI activity across this industry's occupations (employment × observed usage), each attributed to the occupation it comes from.
| Task | Occupation | How | Share of signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Troubleshoot problems involving office equipment, such as computer hardware and software. | Office Clerks, General | Feedback loop | 37.5% |
| Provide educational information about physical therapy or physical therapists, injury prevention, ergonomics, or ways to promote health. | Physical Therapists | Learning | 6.5% |
| Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing. | Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | Directive | 4.3% |
| Conduct searches to find needed information, using such sources as the Internet. | Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | Directive | 3.9% |
| Participate in the work of subordinates to facilitate productivity or to overcome difficult aspects of work. | First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | Iteration | 3.0% |
| Develop or maintain internal or external company Web sites. | Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | Directive | 3.0% |
| Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients. | Physical Therapists | Iteration | 2.0% |
| Teach patients how to deal constructively with their emotions. | Occupational Therapy Assistants | Learning | 1.9% |
| Provide consultation, support, or education to groups such as parents and teachers. | Occupational Therapists | Iteration | 1.8% |
| Develop instructional materials and conduct in-service and community-based educational programs. | Medical and Health Services Managers | Iteration | 1.6% |
| Process and prepare memos, correspondence, travel vouchers, or other documents. | Receptionists and Information Clerks | Iteration | 1.6% |
| Process and prepare documents, such as business or government forms and expense reports. | Office Clerks, General | Directive | 1.5% |
Occupations behind the signal
The occupations whose AI-touched tasks contribute most to this industry's signal, by employment here.
| Occupation | Workers | Share | How they use AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Therapists | 88,960 | 18.7% | Learning |
| Speech-Language Pathologists | 47,050 | 9.9% | Feedback loop |
| Occupational Therapists | 42,330 | 8.9% | Iteration |
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 24,000 | 5.0% | Iteration |
| Occupational Therapy Assistants | 19,370 | 4.1% | Learning |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | 15,880 | 3.3% | Iteration |
| Receptionists and Information Clerks | 15,160 | 3.2% | Directive |
| Office Clerks, General | 11,830 | 2.5% | Feedback loop |
| Billing and Posting Clerks | 6,620 | 1.4% | Directive |
| General and Operations Managers | 6,190 | 1.3% | Iteration |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 5,950 | 1.3% | Directive |
| First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 5,830 | 1.2% | Iteration |
This rollup is only as complete as the occupation-task matches available for the industry; the coverage figure above is shown so sparse industries do not look falsely precise. AI exposure is not the same as replacement.
Skill & tool metabolism
What this industry's work actually runs on. Each figure is the share of the industry's workers in occupations that significantly rely on a skill, knowledge area, or ability (O*NET importance ≥ 3 of 5), or that use a tool category — its employment reach. This is a measure of how widespread a requirement is across the workforce, not how intensively any one worker uses it. Shares are independent and need not add to 100%.
Based on 96.4% of this industry's employment that maps to a detailed occupation with an O*NET skill profile.
Skills
| Skill | Employment reach | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | 96.3% | 458,970 |
| Speaking | 96.2% | 458,310 |
| Reading Comprehension | 95.9% | 456,860 |
| Critical Thinking | 95.8% | 456,520 |
| Writing | 94.5% | 450,410 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 93.5% | 445,800 |
| Service Orientation | 93.4% | 445,250 |
| Coordination | 91.9% | 437,920 |
| Time Management | 90.6% | 431,890 |
| Monitoring | 90.2% | 430,110 |
| Active Learning | 80.2% | 382,270 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 79.1% | 376,890 |
Knowledge areas
| Knowledge area | Employment reach | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 96.0% | 457,560 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 95.9% | 457,100 |
| Education and Training | 70.1% | 334,190 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 69.4% | 330,860 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 69.0% | 329,070 |
| Psychology | 68.7% | 327,530 |
| Administrative | 62.0% | 295,680 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 47.7% | 227,460 |
| Computers and Electronics | 47.4% | 225,740 |
| Administration and Management | 43.3% | 206,310 |
| Biology | 33.0% | 157,100 |
| Physics | 18.8% | 89,590 |
Abilities
| Abilitie | Employment reach | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Near Vision | 96.4% | 459,270 |
| Oral Comprehension | 96.4% | 459,230 |
| Oral Expression | 96.3% | 459,150 |
| Speech Clarity | 96.0% | 457,330 |
| Speech Recognition | 96.0% | 457,430 |
| Written Comprehension | 95.9% | 456,910 |
| Written Expression | 95.3% | 453,970 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 93.0% | 443,200 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 92.6% | 441,280 |
| Information Ordering | 92.3% | 439,880 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 86.4% | 411,710 |
| Category Flexibility | 85.6% | 408,130 |
Tool categories
| Tool category | Employment reach | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet software | 96.6% | 460,460 |
| Word processing software | 96.5% | 459,750 |
| Electronic mail software | 96.2% | 458,520 |
| Office suite software | 96.2% | 458,710 |
| Medical software | 93.5% | 445,550 |
| Calendar and scheduling software | 63.7% | 303,420 |
| Presentation software | 58.5% | 278,620 |
| Accounting software | 57.7% | 275,040 |
| Data base user interface and query software | 56.4% | 268,990 |
| Internet browser software | 56.1% | 267,310 |
| Analytical or scientific software | 51.2% | 244,230 |
| Billing and invoicing software | 42.6% | 202,880 |
| Operating system software | 40.8% | 194,430 |
| Graphics or photo imaging software | 33.3% | 158,850 |
| Action games | 33.0% | 157,360 |
Reach = share of industry employment in occupations where the requirement is significant; it is not a per-worker usage or proficiency measure. Skill, knowledge, and ability importance is from O*NET; tool use is reported presence of a technology category.
Largest occupations
The occupations that employ the most people in this industry, with their share of the industry's workforce and national median pay for the occupation (not industry-specific pay).
Showing the top 40 of 147 occupations by employment.
Most distinctive occupations
The occupations most unusually concentrated in this industry compared with the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more common an occupation is here versus its economy-wide share (a value of 5 means five times as concentrated).
| Occupation | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Therapist Aides | 214.72× | 29,210 |
| Occupational Therapy Aides | 150.11× | 2,320 |
| Physical Therapist Assistants | 146.86× | 49,030 |
| Occupational Therapy Assistants | 130.8× | 19,370 |
| Physical Therapists | 115.76× | 88,960 |
| Occupational Therapists | 89.93× | 42,330 |
| Audiologists | 86.32× | 3,930 |
| Speech-Language Pathologists | 85.14× | 47,050 |
| Therapists, All Other | 69.66× | 4,160 |
| Hearing Aid Specialists | 64.83× | 2,120 |
| Athletic Trainers | 37.1× | 3,320 |
| Special Education Teachers, Preschool | 29.83× | 2,600 |
| Exercise Physiologists | 19.95× | 500 |
| Psychiatric Technicians | 18.87× | 7,950 |
| Recreational Therapists | 15.25× | 710 |
| Healthcare Support Workers, All Other | 14.39× | 4,610 |
| Marriage and Family Therapists | 11.79× | 2,400 |
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 9.35× | 24,000 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | 9.08× | 15,880 |
| Special Education Teachers, All Other | 8.8× | 1,070 |
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
The Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists workforce sits at the 49th percentile of AI task overlap — 476,590 U.S. workers
- Weighting every occupation by its real share of Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists employment, the industry's workforce ranks in the 49th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap — overlap with what AI can attempt, not a measure of jobs at risk.Eloundou et al. + Felten AIOE, weighted by BLS OEWS
- The industry employs about 476,590 U.S. workers across 147 occupations.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
- Employment-weighted typical annual pay is about $70,810.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
- Of AI use observed across this industry's occupations, 45% looks like augmentation rather than automation — from a Claude.ai sample, not a census.Anthropic Economic Index
The Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists workforce sits at the 49th percentile of AI task overlap — 476,590 U.S. workers • Weighting every occupation by its real share of Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists employment, the industry's workforce ranks in the 49th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap — overlap with what AI can attempt, not a measure of jobs at risk. (Eloundou et al. + Felten AIOE, weighted by BLS OEWS) • The industry employs about 476,590 U.S. workers across 147 occupations. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) • Employment-weighted typical annual pay is about $70,810. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) • Of AI use observed across this industry's occupations, 45% looks like augmentation rather than automation — from a Claude.ai sample, not a census. (Anthropic Economic Index) Source: Singulariki — "Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists". https://singulariki.com/industries/621340 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Census NAICS 2022 U.S. Census Bureau
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
Data compiled June 3, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/industries/621340
Singulariki. (2026). Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/industries/621340
@misc{singulariki-621340,
title = {Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; Census NAICS 2022; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/industries/621340}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.